Work experience at the academy

Currently, Harry is a trainee, learning the ropes of Web Engineer gaining valuable web agency work experience while studying at Exeter College, read his thoughts on a year in the work experience seat with Web Engineer.

So Harry, you’re working with us while at College, what course are you studying and why did you think of work experience at a web agency?

I’m currently studying at Exeter College doing a level 4/5 Higher National Certificate and Diploma in Computing. It’s a two-year course which is equipping me with the knowledge and skills that are essential for success in IT, like programming, systems architecture, project management and web security. Gaining work experience at a web agency was a natural fit.

Harry the work experience guy

As the course is only two days a week, rather than getting a basic job at a supermarket, it was more important to me to increase my knowledge and skills in the subject are by getting a job in the industry.

The company was introduced to me by recommendation, I did some research on the company and gave them a call.

An example of one of the projects that has helped me the most is the programming unit. The assignment was set out such that there was a fictional scenario where I was working at a software development company where they wanted to achieve the goal of making their programmers more productive and the code more maintainable.

The unit has allowed me to put the skills I learned into practise by making a simple program but also acknowledge the theory behind the subject area as well. I could transition these skills to the working environment at Web Engineer where my knowledge could then be expanded to a real-world scenario.

How do you find working at Web Engineer? How are your colleagues and how do they help your learning?

The work and support at Web Engineer is exceptional, the working environment is relaxed but in a way that makes sure that work gets completed to a professional level. As I only work two days a week it can sometimes be difficult for me to stay in the loop of the ongoing projects which means I ask a lot of questions when I am unsure on what to do however there has never been a point where my colleagues have been frustrated with me if I ask a lot of questions and or make a mistake. Everyone is incredibly understanding and patient to take me through the areas of where I went wrong so I can learn and expand my knowledge for the future.

What skills have you picked up at Web Engineer?

In the short time I have been at Web Engineer the skills I have picked up along the way have been essentially endless, below is an example of the skills I use:

Customer communication

HTML

CSS

Javascript

Database Management

Server maintenance

Having previously worked at a supermarket I had previously never had any real-world office environment experience before, there have been indispensable skills I have gained from it such as effective time management, project team-working and thinking outside the box and using initiative when coming up with solutions to tasks.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years? Any skills or experience you want to learn

It is difficult to see exactly where I will see myself in 5 years however ideally, I would like to continue working at Web Engineer as it is a phenomenal company that has taken me on while I am doing my course. Over time I would like to sharpen my skills in programming, especially venturing in areas that I have yet to cover such as C, C# and C++. As well as this I would like to learn about the hardware that makes the servers and computer systems work in the network and integrate what I have learned at college to the working environment.

What Web tech interests you the most?

I find all web technology fascinating but finding out how websites function and operate in the back-end systems truly is an amazing feat of software engineering. Using software such as NetBeans to fix and improve areas of websites is something that I really enjoy. I’m also interested in the networking itself with all the different types of physical and logical topologies that are used and so much more.

I also keep up to date with the latest technology and events by reading articles on websites such as Mashable and Cnet. I also like watching videos from tech enthusiast such as MKBHD and Jonathan Morrison when new technology is released.